Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Dicte.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Dictexe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hinnerup, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely-flowering Kalanchoe cultivars with attractive flower coloration and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made in Hinnerup, Denmark, of the Kalanchoe cultivar Nadia, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Kalanchoe cultivar Revolution White Rose, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. The new Kalanchoe was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Hinnerup, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal cuttings taken at Hinnerup, Denmark, by the Inventor, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Dicte has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Dictexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Dictexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves.
3. Light pink and red purple bi-colored flowers.
4. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe differ from plants of the parent cultivars in growth habit, flower size and petal coloration.